Tampa Police Arrest 23 at Peaceful Protest

The 23 were given notices to appear because they were blocking a roadway and refused to move, the Tampa Police Department said.

YBOR CITY – Police arrested 23 protestors who refused to move from a roadway Tuesday (Nov. 29) during a demonstration for an increased minimum wage.

The 23 were arrested without incident and the protest ended peacefully and without property damage, Tampa police said. Some demonstrators thanked officers and offered them water.

The demonstration, organized around an appeal for an increase in the minimum wage, began marching from Centennial Park, 1800 E Eighth Ave., after 5 p.m., headed toward 7th Avenue in Ybor City. Then demonstrators marched down 22nd Street. As they have at all the recent protests, police said they successfully worked to ensure the safety of the demonstrators and to minimize traffic tie ups. Just short of I-4, police said the demonstrators turned west to 21st Street, and it was there that many sat down blocking the road.

Police told organizers that they could not continue to block the road. At 6 p.m., police made the first of three notifications, in English and in Spanish, that demonstrators should clear the roadway. Most moved to the sidewalk. When the arrests began, the 23 arrestees stood. None resisted. There was no violence, officers said.

After the demonstration returned to the park, officers said some demonstrators thanked them for keeping them safe and offered police bottles of water.

Those arrested were given a notice to appear and were released on their own recognizance.